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If you’re a college basketball fan, you probably have an opinion on the Duke Blue Devils.
Some love them. Some hate them. But one thing is certain, everybody pays attention when Duke is playing in a big game.
Most fans, it seems, have a distaste for the Blue Devils.
The program transcends what fans typically picture as basketball culture. It’s prim and proper, buttoned up, and built, in part, by well off kids from wealthy families who attended fancy private schools.
The latest example of that stereotype is star forward Kyle Filipowski.
Filipowski, a 6-foot-11, 230-pound center out of Willbraham & Monson Academy in Massachusetts, was the No. 4 overall prospect in the 2022 class according to 247Sports.
Willbraham & Monson’s tuition is listed at nearly $70,000 a year for boarding school students.
But Filipowski is no joke. As freshman, he won ACC Rookie of the Year and led the team in points (15.1) and rebounds (9.0).
On a recent episode of The Brotherhood Podcast, Filipowski discussed embracing the hate that comes with being a star player for Duke.
“I did experience some (hate) last year, just hearing a lot of bad talk about me,” he said. “That’s what happens when you’re a really good player playing for a really good team…I use it as fuel to the fire. It makes me laugh because I’m like, ‘You guys are talking s*** to me while you’re watching me play. You’re spending your money to watch me beat your a**.’ It’s very entertaining for me.”
From Christian Laetner, to JJ Redick and the Plumlee brothers, Duke is no stranger to having players perceived as “villains.”
But if Filipowski has the same level of success that those before him had, nobody with the Blue Devils will care much about what fans think about either him or the team.